Book cover of The Magician

Book description

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE

From one of our greatest living writers comes a sweeping novel of unrequited love and exile, war and family.

The Magician tells the story of Thomas Mann, whose life was filled with great acclaim and contradiction. He…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Magician as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This novel's central character is a fictionalization, not of another character, but of an author, Thomas Mann. Tóibín presents the known outer details of Mann’s life well—his work, his fame, and the cultural and social upheavals of 20th-century Germany—but I find the intimate inner life of the great writer most fascinating.

Drawing on Mann’s published works as well as his posthumously published diaries, Tóibín can enter Mann’s mind and heart as he interacts with his wife, his brother, his children, particularly Klaus (nicknamed Essi), his sexuality, and above all, with his forbidden love for the young Tadzio, the love interest…

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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

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